Genre is a subjective marketing category that often misleads rather than informs. Some books defy classification, especially books by Dean Koontz. How do you pin down stories that fit at least a dozen marketing labels, including: Action, Adventure, Crime, Horror, Humor, Mystery, Philosophical, Science Fiction, Speculative, Thriller, Urban, and, yes, Visionary Fiction? No one could…
The statement below was written by a practitioner of painted visionary works, yet I was struck by how it synced with our definition of visionary fiction at Visionary Fiction Alliance and how it applies to other visionary art forms as well. Art of the Visionary attempts to show what lies beyond the boundary of our…
Monty Joynes’ achievements are too many and his writings, Visionary Fiction and otherwise, too numerous and varied to cover in the space allotted to a single post. Here I can just hope to put enough, garnished with links leading deeper, to arouse VF authors to curiosity about the life and work of a writer who deserves to be studied and emulated as a stellar model of both the spirit and substance, the art and the craft, of visionary fiction.
Guest Post by Alissa Lukara The Transformational Writers website, like the Visional Fiction Alliance, arose out of my calling to provide a place of support and exploration for writers who aim to explore the evolution of consciousness, alternative realities and write stories that make a positive difference. I wanted to create a haven for visionary…
Same Umbrella, Different Factions Violence aside, I would gladly welcome the dystopian sci-fi novel Divergent into our “faction” here at Visionary Fiction Alliance. Veronica Roth deserves her New York Times Bestselling Author status. She deserves her book’s 13,561 Amazon reviews (9,733 of which are five stars). She deserves her book sales of over eleven million. All these…
A Movie Experience of Visionary Fiction We are well aware that Visionary Fiction, with regards to the publishing industry, is a genre in its infancy, though its form and mode of storytelling is perennial. One way to describe, define, and increase awareness of this genre for authors, readers, agents, and publishers, is to show by…
To read or review “Carl Jung and Visionary Fiction, Part 1, click HERE. “Universal in Worldview and Scope” The VFA characterizes Visionary Fiction as “universal in worldview and scope.” The Jungian visionary novel “is not concerned with the individual even when it is written about an individual,” Keyes says. “Exploring the individual experience is a…
Psychological Fiction versus Visionary Fiction It may come as a shock, or at least a revelation, to Visionary Fiction readers and writers that Carl Jung, the eminent Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology, defined Visionary Fiction and described it in detail in a lecture delivered in 1929, “Psychology and Literature,” included in the…
What follows is a compilation of several posts Maria Barry made to the Visionary Fiction Group blog on Goodreads.com. She agreed to our reposting them, with a few editorial liberties, here on the VFA site. About Maria Barry I am a publisher/publicist, part of the UK based John Hunt Publishing Ltd. My background is mind,…
Reading I don’t recall learning to read. Nor do I remember ever not reading. With two parents who read and wrote as regularly as they breathed, it was natural to follow suit. I grew up on an isolated farm without a radio or TV, so books were it for information and entertainment. But I was…
The yellow lights came on, flashing furiously, at the blurb describing Perri Birney’s, PURE VISION, The Magdalene Revelation: stolen ancient artifact…dangerous journey…legendary treasures…clandestine pseudo-Masonic group.
Dreaming Worlds Awake is the newest book by VFA member Esme Ellis. This is a book that offers glimpses into the soul journey of the author. It could have gone the way of many memoir or Visionary Fiction books and been self-absorbed or pedantic. This does not happen in ‘Dreaming Worlds Awake’. Esme expresses her…
I write visionary fiction. Unfortunately, mainstream agents and publishers do not recognize visionary fiction as a genre. In fact, they have dubbed it “the kiss of death” with the flat of their swords. In the past, visionary fiction was heavy on preaching and light on storytelling, so it deserved temporary banishment to the time-out corner. But…
Thanks for supporting the VFA! We look forward to another year of posts, book reviews and insights from visionary authors. Here are some of our highlights from 2012: The article that started it all – read how the VFA began. Relevance Of Visionary Fiction Series Visionary Fiction Challenges Our Species to Evolve – Michael Sussman…
Editor’s Note: This post appears courtesy Margaret Duarte’s site (slightly edited). By Margaret Duarte I’ve been blogging for over two years now , and lately I’ve been doing some serious soul-searching about the value of working so hard. Then today (16 October), I received an email from Dean Koontz concerning the post I wrote about him…
Margaret Duarte Before I explain what Visionary Fiction is, let me position it on a chart that shows the basic types of literature and genres. As you can see, rather than being a genre of its own, Visionary Fiction is a subgenre of Speculative Fiction, which makes it hard to categorize, and, although VF has…
Eleni Papanou I see visionary fiction as a timely genre and one of the light carriers of this dark age. It’s the ideal counterbalance to western pop culture that seems to favor violent themes and images that permeate the whole media landscape. The present cycle will continue until a contrasting alternative presents itself. I see…
(Note: This is a slightly edited version of a blog post originally written for the VF web-ring under the title, The Place of Visionary Fiction in Today’s World and published March 2012) Saleena Karim According to one online dictionary, the meanings of the word ‘visionary’ include something characterised by foresight; fantasy and imagination; prophecy or revelation; and…
Jodine Turner Visionary Fiction speaks the language of the soul.It contains all the elements of modern storytelling yet there is a deeper layer, an archetypal level. This level invites a reader to personally undergo the mystical inner initiations that the book’s character experiences. Visionary Fiction not only entertains, it embeds esoteric wisdom and paranormal experiences…
Sandy Nathan Before talking about the relevance of visionary fiction in today’s world, we need a working definition of the term. Fiction is easy: it’s writing that’s made up. It doesn’t refer to the real or empirical world. It’s imaginary. I think of writing fiction as the best way to tell the truth without getting…
Michael Sussman Human nature is not fixed. It has evolved over the course of millennia and is capable of further change. Is it overly grandiose to suggest that visionary fiction could help play a role in such a transformation? Most likely, but I shall nevertheless make the case. Visionary fiction overlaps with several better established…
The Founding Members of the Visionary Fiction Alliance invite you to join us in our blessings, our intentions, and our prayers for this site. You may envision us breaking a bottle of champagne over a ship’s hull. Or perhaps you see us cutting a shining golden ribbon with over-sized scissors. You might even imagine us…